If you really let this sport take hold of your soul, buying the great gear is part of the process. When I first started, I was pretty reasonable about the gear I had, but as fished more and more, and became more successful, I couldn't help but want the better gear.

What I tend to do--instead of having that one ultimate rod/reel set up, I tend to tailor rod and reel setups to specific types of fishing (floats, drifting, light-line summer fishing, etc) so that I'll have the most optimum gear for any given situation. Does it mean more fish? Probably only translates to a few more fish per year, if that, but who's good enough that they catch fish every time out. You work pretty damn hard for them when its slow (and cold, and raining, and windy), any advantage you can get seems worth it.